Last week I told you about our favorite quarantine cookies. This is our quarantine taco, another simple discovery from our early Inside Days this spring that ticked a miraculous number of boxes at once. Like, “How do we turn this massive head of cauliflower into dinner because it’s too big for our overstuffed fridge?” and “without having to go to the store and buy anything extra?” It used so many ingredients that had become staples — canned beans, cotija (great fridge shelf life), red onions, tortillas, and a small luxury of an avocado delivery service we discovered right when we needed it most. Plus, it managed to work for the whole family, including our pickiest, who we discovered liked roasted cauliflower and also pickled onions, we suspect because they’re pink.
I’m lousy at meal planning because I’m not the kind of cook who ever wants to make the same dish every single week. I want to make something new that I thought of five minutes ago, not what I thought last Saturday I’d be craving on Wednesday night. But there is some magic in this combination of ingredients — scorched, highly seasoned cauliflower in a medium rubble, lime juice, creamy avocado, salty cotija, crunchy pickled onions, and the most delicious hot sauce (current favorite: Valentina) that I have still (still! over six months later!) yet to tire of eating so now we get a head of cauliflower every week and confidently know it will not go to waste.
I realize this site already has a fair share of tacos (and even a cauliflower quesadilla) but I definitely don’t need to tell you that tacos — small packets, complex ingredients, vibrant finishes, always the right balance of filling but not food coma-inducing — are the perfect food, right? And with that, I’m off to make another batch of these tonight.
Tacos, previously: Crisp Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Slaw, Sweet Potato Tacos, Charred Corn Tacos with Zucchini and Radish Slaw, Taco Torte
Previously
6 months ago: Crispy Crumbled Potatoes
1 year ago: Chickpea and Kale Shakshuka
2 year ago: Crispy Spinach Pizza
3 years ago: Pizza Beans and Chocolate Tahini Challah Buns
4 years ago: Homemade Merguez with Herby Yogurt and Magic Apple Plum Cobbler
5 years ago: The Perfect Manhattan, Broccoli Cheddar Soup and S’more Cupcakes
6 years ago: Latke Waffles and The Crispy Egg
7 years ago: Frico Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
8 years ago: Crackly Banana Bread and Spaghetti with Broccoli Cream Pesto
9 years ago: Apple Pie Cookies
10 years ago: Single-Crust Apple and Crumb Pie
11 years ago: Date Spice Loaf and Lebanese-Style Stuffed Eggplant
12 years ago: Summer’s Last Hurrah Panzanella, Sweet and Sour Glazed Cippoline, Majestic and Moist Honey Cake, and Best Challah (Egg Bread)
13 years ago: Red Velvet Cake, Noodle Kugel, Spaghetti Fideos with Chorizo and Almonds and Couscous and Feta-Stuffed Peppers
14 years ago: Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette
Simple Cauliflower Tacos
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large (3 pounds) head cauliflower, trimmed, chopped small, including core
- Red pepper flakes
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 lime, halved
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 12 small (4 to 5-inch) or 8 medium (7-inch) corn or flour tortillas
- 1/2 to 1 avocado, thinly sliced (to taste)
- 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Hot sauce and/or pickled jalapeños
Pickle onion: Combine vinegar, water, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a small bowl. Add onion and toss to coat. Set aside until needed.
Coat large baking sheet with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add cauliflower to pan, sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, red pepper flakes (to taste), and cumin and toss to coat, adding another tablespoon of oil if needed. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing pieces at the 15 minute mark so they take on a deep brown crisp on as many sides as possible. Remove from oven and immediately squeeze the juice from half a lime over the tray. Add black beans to pan, so they warm a bit before serving.
Meanwhile, heat your tortillas. Wrap them tightly in foil and place the packet in the oven for 5 minutes. For more color and texture, sometimes I char them first on the gas flame on the stove, or blister them in a dry pan. Keep them warm in a covered dish until ready to assemble.
To assemble tacos, scoop cauliflower-bean mixture onto a warmed tortilla. Add avocado, pickled red onion, cotija, cilantro, and hot sauce to taste. Serve with remaining lime half in wedges. Eat right away.
Breathing new life into Taco Tuesday! Plus, currently on a big roasted cauliflower kick. Can’t wait to try this next week.
Cauliflower and cotija!! I keep a package in the freezer for just such inspirational applications, credit to your elote-inspired chowder for getting our household to eat a cheese that’s almost as easy to procure as cheddar in our area.
Tacos have been the salvation of my quarantine cooking as in my house, any food item + tortillas + guac = hooray, it’s taco night! Roasted cauliflower tacos are a staple, and I also throw chickpeas on the sheetpan and let them crisp up along with the cauliflower and it is so good.
I make something similar based on a recipe from the cookbook Chloe Flavor: toss cauliflower florets and drained canned pineapple chunks in oil and taco seasoning, roast until edges are getting crispy… She calls it a vegan take on tacos al pastor. It’s super tasty!!
I love the idea of adding roasted pineapple to the mix!
We had this tonight and was delicious! The only different item was I always make homemade pico de Gallo and so had that as an additional topping. 4/4 family members gave it a 10/10.
These look great! Your cauliflower quesadillas are one of our staples, but I think these will be making an appearance very soon…
Yum! Can’t wait to make this. I have one suggestion, though: simplify the pickled onions and just use seasoned rice vinegar instead of the vinegar, sugar, and salt. When I was a chef (pre kids) it was my go-to for basically any and all quick pickles!
Love this idea ❤️
Deb: you say Cotija cheese has a long shelf life, but mine seems to go downhill very quickly once I open it. Any suggestions on how to keep it from going bad? Freeze half?
It might be the kind I get. I’m always surprised to find it totally fine months later in an open package. I definitely think you can freeze it.
Great idea! My mind is blown!
You mean quickles
Oh, ho — cauliflower tacos are already on OUR menu for this week. We’ll be trying yours: I bet they’ll be better then the current recipe!
Because I shop weekly (or even less frequently, pandemic-wise) I generally write out 7 – 10 dinner ideas, some of which are fast and easy and some of which will take longer. That way we don’t get to, say, taco night, and find we’re out of cilantro. (This time of year it’s also some warm salads, and some hearty stews, so I can vary according to the weather.)
This looks perfect! Also, if you can find it, get a purple cauliflower, it turns hot pink on the edges when you roast. Your pink-loving kid will be thrilled :)
This is one of my favorite fast weeknight meals! I started making a very similar version a few years back, inspired by your sheet pan meatballs. I basically use this recipe, but add chickpeas in with the cauliflower when roasting (or occasionally I’ll do them separately on the stove so they don’t sog too much). My husband has said he likes these cauliflower tacos even more than meat tacos! Thanks for all of your inspiration :)
What could you do in this recipe as a precook or pre prepare ?
Cauliflower is a vegetable I buy rarely because it’s either use it quickly or be prepared to trim off black bits. Ick! But this looks so tasty. I wish my husband was more flexible about meatless dinners. This looks too good to miss…thank you!
I hear you on the perish-ability, so I
a) steam it and freeze it, or roast it and freeze it and
b) my hubby is such a carnivore, BUT he does love roasted cauliflower (any cauliflower, really) and this was a hit (he subbed chicken for beans, but I didn’t have to cook more, so yay). I keep leftover meat just for times when I don’t want to cook more than what I want for dinner, heh.
Inside Days haha!! love that.
Can you recommend a good brand of canned black beans? I no longer support Goya and looking for a good alternative!
I have yet to find a brand I like as much, sadly. But I’ll keep trying.
I found a brand called Omena Organics that makes incredible canned beans. They’re out of Michigan though, so I’m not sure how widely they’re distributed.
I come to your site for recipes,not your political views. If I want to buy Goya products I will. Your politics notwithstanding
Just tired of this nonsense.
Knock yourself out and use whatever beans you want. Just don’t knock Deb’s _other_ fans for having a social conscience that’s different from yours. Seriously, just scroll on by.
I like Bush beans they had a line of speciality beans that were tasty recently. I take their plain pinto beans drain them warm in sauce pan with a little chicken broth ( that small amount you always have left over) with a bit of cumin Mexican oregano (buy a package in Latin food section grocery store use a light hand it can be over powering but adds a little something) & simmer for a few minutes. Someone on this blog wrote that if you cook canned beans a bit more they will be better tasting.
Wegmans store brand is perfectly nice if they’re in your area.
Here in Chicago our main brand is La Preferida https://www.lapreferida.com/product-category/beans-grains/
I love the Cuban style black beans from a Trader Joe’s.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was devoured by all in seconds. Thanks!!!
What would you recommend if you can’t get Cotija? No one sells it in the Netherlands, and the shop I used to order from in the UK has shut down. Quelle horreur! I’ve subbed feta before, but it just doesn’t hold a candle.
I was going to ask the same. Never saw Cotija anywhere in Germany, I think we are just too far away from Mexico. I had the idea of subbing it with a salty Portuguese or Spanish cheese, might that work? Feta I also thought would be an idea, but Hayley said it doesn’t hold a candle. I never even tried Cotija in my life, so I am open for any suggestions and can’t compare…
Do you know how long I can keep the pickled onions? We have started making this recipe every other week and always have leftover pickled onions that I’m sure would be great on sandwiches etc… any idea?
We always use feta, crumbled direct from a block (don’t get the precrumbled stuff). It’s not the same but we think it’s pretty tasty!
What other dry, salty cheese can you get?
Here in Switzerland we can also get ricotta salata.
I can’t even count how many times I’ve made this recipe, and it’s consistently SO GOOD! Thank you for such a delicious and easy to make recipe!
I love your cauliflower and poblano quesadilla recipe, though my preschooler has preferred the filling in tacos. It’s been a new staple of taco Tuesday at our house as well, as we try to decrease our meat consumption. Adding roasted chickpeas is popular with my kids as well.
I just wanted to say that your ability to have all the perfect elements to your posts and site are a thing of beauty. I believe its the result of a gift you have along with great effort you give and I am a happier person because of your great work.
Yay, roasted cauliflower belongs in everything! Not taco related, but for any fans of the street cart chicken and rice in Deb’s second book, cauliflower roasted with that marinade makes a worthy meatless substitute for the chicken. The aroma isn’t as likely to drive your family members into the kitchen, but it complements all the other components of the meal quite nicely.
Yes, yes, yes to all of this. We are roasted cauliflower people. I love on a lunch salad with garbanzos and maybe some roasted orange veg. It’s also delicious with curry powder and a couple of the samosas from the shop by my work, most especially if you add garbanzos, yogurt, onion and cilantro. We haven’t gone the taco route in a while: thanks for the reminder.
You should check out https://borgenproject.org/ to help downsize poverty!!!
These are wonderful and so, so easy! We smashed our avocado with a little garlic powder and lemon pepper along with the extra lime juice, but otherwise didn’t change a thing. These will absolutely go into our regular rotation!
I am loving the look of this dish. The humble cauliflower is so versatile isn’t it. Can’t wait to try it.
Seeing as my kids suddently “dont want meat,” this is going to be perfect this week (with my homemade tortillas!). Thanks for the recipe.
So so so good. And easy enough that making this on top of the plain old ground beef taco filling for the kids was not an inconvenience. Highly recommended.
This sounds delicious! I just tried cotija cheese for the first time this summer, and am totally hooked. Thanks for providing another dish that I can top with cotija.
Two questions; what did you serve with these? And, about how many cups do you think you got out of your head of cauliflower?
I don’t remember the cups of the cauliflower but 1. It’s a lot (probably 4 to 6 cups), and 2. It shrinks a ton when it roasts. We don’t serve it with anything. This is dinner. If I was going to make anything extra, it might be the “lazy taco slow” buried in this recipe.
Thanks! I always have to scale up to account for extra kiddos (and I like leftovers!). Also, I always feel like I have to have sides! Is that abnormal? Ha!
Thank you for having easy meals that can be adapted in so many ways; vegan, quantity, etc. I’ve loved smitten kitchen since way before we went vegan, glad I’m still able to follow along!
For a side, we usually heat up a box or two of frozen plantains — Goya or Chiquita — in the microwave to serve alongside the tacos, which have been in heavy rotation around here for years. (I’ve got the cauliflower roasting in the oven right now!)
Hi Deb, we had this for dinner tonight and it was wonderful. A few days ago when I was trying to convince my partner we should add “cauliflower tacos” to this week’s menu, he hesitated. But when I mentioned it came from this site, he perked up, “if it’s smitten, I’m in!” Just wanted to share. #ifitssmittenimin
Great name for your next cookbook: If It’s Smitten, I’m In!
I’d also go for: Smitten, Forever!
These were so easy and delicious! We accidentally served them with pomegranate arils (my 5 yo insisted she peel one and wanted to eat it with dinner). Wow! They added a bright note (and looked very festive). Highly recommend if you have one sitting around.
I tried the recipe last week and it was ALL that I expected, my family loved it, thanks for sharing!
My husband and I loved this recipe, especially the flavor layers that all of the easy-to-add toppings create!
Made these last night, and they were amazing! My 2-year-old could not eat enough of the pickled onions. Thanks for giving us an easy weeknight dinner.
Can I just tell you how much of hit this was with the husband who always wants meat? He did add leftover chicken, but only because he doesn’t like beans (except re-fried, so…??). I even forgot to add the cayenne pepper because I didn’t have flakes, and it was *still* amazing, hehe.
Cauliflowers are my favorites whenever I want to have something vegetarian.. .and your recipe is so different and delicious… I Made it as an evening snack and my entire family absolutely loved it.. Thanks for sharing!
Deb,
Thanks for this recipe, my Tuesday email post, and for enduring. Keep up the good work! Also, have you discovered SweeTango apples? Eureka! I’m a Gala girl, but really love this new-to-me apple which has just been introduced down south. Made your mom’s apple cake with SweeTangos to rave reviews. Dreaming up more uses.
Wonderful. I subbed queso fresco because I could not locate the other cheese. Fine, fine, fine. Wish I had doubled up on the pickled onions. I imagine we resembled the fantastic mr. fox and his family while eating this. It was a great meal.
Wow! These were fantastic. I only had feta cheese on hand, but I think it made me like them more. I don’t feel gross and weighed down like I would with a beef taco; a sentiment my husband echoed. My only “issue” was not getting the gorgeous brown coloring on the cauliflower. I think I might need to raise my oven temp. Totally adding this to the rotation. Thank you!
These were delicious! Didn’t have cotija so used goat cheese, and swear I had bought black beans but only had refried (the salsa kind from Trader Joe’s). Even with the substitutions this was such a lovely, balanced, colorful collection of ingredients. The pickled onions were a particular highlight! And super quick and manageable for a weeknight.
All I can say is WOW! Incredible combination of flavors. I already want to make these tomorrow night! Thank you!
Just made these last night. They were fantastic! Very easy and more filling than I would have expected from a veg taco. Will definitely make again.
Thank you! I made these (sort of) last night and they were a hit, even with a couple of changes. I meant to cook black beans earlier in the day from dry, but forgot (and had no canned beans) – so I roasted a sliced Delicata squash as a substitute, which was great. And since hubby doesn’t like onions, I used the delicious slaw from your “crisp black bean tacos with feta and slaw” recipe instead. But I’ll definitely make them again with the black beans.
These look delicious! Growing up in the 70’s, my mom made cauliflower burritos. She would steam the cauliflower- nobody really roasted veggies back then. I think she’d love this recipe, and I can’t wait to share it with her as well as try it myself!
Made this for a very picky eater tonight and he LOVED it !! I love your website, newsletter and writing style. You’re so fun to read and always make me smile. Thank you !! Keep up the great work.
Made these last night and loved them!! Added more spice/heat (no kids) with cayenne pepper and chipotle powder and used TJ’s hot and sweet pickled jalapeños rather than onions. Did simple red cabbage slaw for side. Have bountiful butternut squash so plan to make something similar with them! Thanks for reminding us how many ways to use vegetables in other ways! Delicious
I’ve been cooking all week. This is my favorite meal so far!! I did cooK the beans a bit with onions, cumin, garlic and chili powder, but this is a great recipe!
These were SO GOOD!!!!! I ate these for lunch and dinner today and would happily eat them again tomorrow if there were any left! My 1 year old loved the cauli mix too (without chile flakes). Even won over my husband who had previously described cauliflower as tasting like old socks!
made this for dinner tonight and it’s increeeeeedible! thanks deb!
So we are on vacation (I know!!! First time since the pandemic!) and I made this the other night! We happened to have some left over super thin onion rings from a carry out order from the previous night…I didn’t want to buy extra staples to make quick pickled onions like I usually do since I wasn’t at home so I reheated the onion rings and OMG IT PUT THIS DISH OVER THE TOP! So much so that I needed to tell you about it! Also THANK YOU, Deb, for all you do. You have taught me so much about cooking, and your recipes are always a major hit in my home!
I truly like cauliflower. I especially love it as French comfort food, steamed then baked with nice cheesy béchamel with thin slices of ham. Yumm! But I am grateful for quarantine, for involuntarily preserving me from this fashion of putting poor cauliflower into all kinds of places where it doesn’t belong, in the name of “health”. I am barely recovered from the overdose of kale I suffered 5 years ago. I am in full-blown coconut hatred. It’s interesting how these formerly innocent vegetables that get a time in the limelight of nutritional virtue signaling are all very strong tasting, and cannot be entirely camouflaged. I guess that while it would be much easier to disguise the substitution of say roasted zucchini, irradically bland, for something tastier, what would be the fun in that if nobody could tell?
This is such a tasty and quick recipe! Will be my new go-to for post-grocery tummy rumblings. Thanks!
This was delicious! Might add a little more cumin next time. Two thumbs up from my husband!
I made this for dinner. Unfortunately for me, I lacked a lot of the ingredients – of course I did not realize that when I started. No black beans, per the suggestion of one reviewer, I roasted chickpeas with the same spices as the cauliflower. No corn tortillas, we used flower. No cojita, we used goat cheese. And after all that, it was still delicious and eating partners devoured it and asked for more!
LOVED these! We used Mission’s adorably tiny “street taco” corn tortillas.
I used a lot more cumin (1 tsp, even heaped, seems like a tiny amount for a whole head of cauliflower!) and ancho chili powder in place of the red pepper flakes. Delish!
There were only two of us eating these for dinner, so we enjoyed the leftovers the next morning — heated up the remaining filling and ate with salsa, pickled carrots/cabbage we had on hand, and jammy eggs. Fantastic, and what a great recipe to have on hand for vegetarian visitors.
Did anyone else find these dry? Deb, your cauliflower quesadillas are in regular rotation at our house, so was excited for this new spin, but the finished recipe felt like it needed a sauce/cream/crema of some kind to bring everything together. The toppings weren’t lacking in flavor, but the overall result just felt drier than I expected.
You know how I meal plan? I check smitten kitchen and then find gems like this. This looks so amazing I will be making this week.
Thank you so much for the link to the avocado delivery service. I would never have known but for you! I tried it, and those avocados are fantastic! Every single one of them is perfection. And you have a choice of ripe, semi-ripe or green, so you won’t be stuck with a big load of mushy avocados!
What a wonderful thing to click on your website at 12:30 a.m. and realize I have everything in your recipe, in my refrigerator, to make this for dinner tomorrow. Including the onions, already pickled. Thanks for a great idea!
Easy weeknight dinner, hit with kids and adults. Feta was a suitable substitute for the cotija cheese.
Such a good weeknight dinner recipe! The roasted cauliflower tasted so much better than I could imagine. Pickled onions are a must with it! We added cilantro and sour cream and tummies are so happy right now. This is going on the weeknight dinner rotation! Thanks Deb for yet another delicious meal.
I made this and it didn’t quite work for my family— perhaps because we can’t get good tortillas here in Switzerland. (Boo!) But the leftover beans plus cauliflower, warmed and served over farro, topped with a fried egg and avocado slices, and brightened with the pickled onions, lime juice, and a few shakes of hot sauce? The best lunch I had eaten in weeks. So it’s going into the rotation, just modified.
These tacos were delicious! The textures and flavors are all so wonderful together! The family all gave their vote of approval! Another winner Deb!! Thanks so much for the continual inspiration, you are the best!
These were a huge hit with everyone. Delicious, easy, probably healthy too. What a fun cooking adventure.
This was so good that my mouth is watering remembering it. Thank you Deb! We made this with corn-and-flour tortillas, which have become our new favorite, as they have the flavor of corn tortillas with (what I perceive to be) the superior texture of flour.
Hi Deb, do you always use store-bought tortillas? As they’re not very popular in my country, I make my own using nixtamalised masa harina that I order online. They’re really easy to make with the right flour. Also, thanks for a meatless taco idea because I’m organising a taco night for my friends next weekend and some of them are vegan.
I have made them in the past, but I don’t make them often. They’re way better when homemade, of course!
Just made this recipe which I was saving for Fall. The roasted cauliflower/bean mixture was so incredibly delicious that I could eat it right off the tray. I will make this over and over. Yummy!
So delicious. I’ve used feta, cotija and even cheddar in a pinch. The cumin with the roasted cauliflower is perfect, and just adding the canned beans to the pan when it comes out of the oven is a nice touch to save washing another dish. We’ve made them 4 times since you published the recipe, and I rarely repeat anything in a month.
Been enjoying your sweet potato tacos but one of my kids claims not to like sweet potato. This recipe seems very similar- can I just swap the potato for the cauliflower; same seasonings and cooking times as posted in the other recipe?
I’d use the cooking times here, but you can use those ingredients.
I’ve been making a taco like this for years, except I add a chipotle cream sauce (wipes drool from keyboard)
Wonderful! Added smoked paprika to the cauliflower seasoning and cooked alongside some canned pineapple for another flavor/texture in the taco. Big hit!
I made these as part of a taco bar, and they were delicious and easy! I added some smoked paprika to the spice mixture for the cauliflower, which worked out well. I did feel like I had a lot of left over taco filling? Although the pickled onions all got devoured, and the leftover filling was great as part of a hash for breakfast!
Hi Deb – with a newly vegetarian teenager in the house, and so much cooking this pandemic winter, I’ve relied on your site for many recipes! Loved the flavor of your Charred Cauliflower Quesadillas – but these tacos are much easier and faster to prepare. Thus, I stole the poblano pepper steps from the Quesadillas – charred, peeled, and chopped them. Then spread the black beans and my charred poblanos over the cauliflower for last night’s tacos. We’re lucky no one in the family bit off a finger as they devoured them- Thanks!
Deb on week 957 of lockdown here in the UK, you saved weeknight dinner morale last night with this delicious recipe. My husband and I thank you! Also as a raw-onion-hater I was tempted to skip the pickled onions, but don’t – they make the whole dish.
These are deceptively simple. They take almost no work to make, but the result has layers of flavor. I love this recipe.
This was seriously amazing. Like, I usually don’t compliment my cooking all throughout dinner but I couldn’t help it. Big hit, instantly became a weeknight staple!! I love how flavorful, bright, and filling this is. The pickled onions were key. Thank you!
This was a great vegetarian dinner! I tossed the cauliflower with chipotle paste and olive oil for an extra spicy kick.
How can I print your recipes, why don’t you have a P on each recipe. Everyone
else does, I love your recipes and i’m frustrated that I can’t copy them!!
There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL or ⌘ + P from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template. We will definitely make it easier to find when we next redesign.
This was really delicious! So glad we tried it – thank you!
Just made this on the grill and it added some great smoky flavor! I put the spices and oil on the cauliflower in large sections and grilled it directly on the grate. When it was done, I cut up the cauliflower as the recipe directed. Turned out really good!
Well these were surprisingly delicious! Definitely will make again!
These were great! My usual objection to tacos is all the prep, but these were fast and delicious. My husband said, “I never want to buy cauliflower because I think it’s bland and boring, but every time you cook something with it, it’s delicious!” Big win for cauliflower. . . and today I’m making “I want chocolate cake cake” as cupcakes, so it’s a Smitten Kitchen stretch in our house! THANKS!
These were soooo good! Kids gobbled them up as well. Even enjoyed the leftovers cold the next day. :)
We made a version of these last night and they were incredible! I made an avocado spread with mayo and salsa verde and spread it first. Plus, I included diced sweet potato. So good!
I made this tonight just for me! It was so nice to take care of myself and not omit the spice for my kiddos. They actually both tried a bite, and put together cheese crisps for themselves.
I skipped the beans this time, and it was still delicious. I added some shredded cabbage on top and some crema. Such a lovely dinner for a rainy night in front of Netflix!
Unfortunately while I love roasted cauliflower, and it certainly counts as a quick midweek dinner, it’s not a recipe I would make again. Just adding a can of beans at the end to warm through meant they weren’t seasoned and made the soft tacos which are already usually messy even messier with loose beans going everywhere! Maybe swap the beans for some diced sweet potato and roast that along with the cauliflower?
I used this cauliflower filling but quesadilla’d it for a discriminating 8 year old and 15 year old. I did the pickled onions (and cumin-lime crema from the charred cauliflower quesadillas). HUGE HIT. Quote from the 8 year old: “They’re good just plain but add the onion and the sauce and {explosion sounds}: MIND BLOWN.” He wanted me to send you a picture of him eating them but I’ll draw the line at that…. Thanks for great recipes always!
We make this weekly for dinner and use any leftovers the next day in quesadillas for lunch. My toddler absolutely devours this and my husband prefers these veg tacos to anything else he’s had.
This is a good vegetarian taco filling, especially with more spices – I used smoked paprika, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder in addition to the cumin. I would suggest using two half sheet pans – my cauliflower didn’t get as crispy as I wanted when I tried to fit it all on one, and I think I overcrowded it.
Just jumping on here to say that this has become a weekly staple in our house and one of our favourite dishes, along with your chicken chili- so easy to make and delicious. We add all the toppings, feta instead of cotija as you can’t get it in the UK, plus toasted pumpkin seeds- so good!
Loved theses tacos! So easy for a weeknight. Next time I will chop the cauliflower even smaller like Deb’s picture so it’s easier to eat in the taco shell.
Ok, that did not lead me to your video
One of the nicest taco recipes I’ve ever tried! The pickled onion makes this! I made it with cheddar cheese (because I can’t find cotija in Australia) and served with a chipotle mayo and I wish I’d made twice as much because it was so yummy! Thank you Deb!
Could you used frozen or bagged cauliflower rice to make this easier? Would that still crisp up in the oven?
I think it will be too small (the rice) and tougher to get crisp (frozen), but maybe not impossible.
Excellent meatless Monday option. loved the roasted Cauliflower with the seasoning
I grew up in s. California eating Mexican food every day. The cauli tacos are pretty good but would be so much better with Monterery jack cheese instead of cotija cheese. Cotija is dry and salty and crumbly and relatively flavorless. Also the method of heating the corn tortillas (in a foil packet) leads to steamed tortillas that sort of fall apart. Much better to heat them individually in a hot skillet.
These are lovely. Even my husband loves them and he really doesn’t like cauliflower as a rule. They’re fine without the avocado but benefit from a dab of Greek yoghurt or sour cream. I never remember to buy tortillas but this recipe only requires flour, oil, salt and water and produces wonderful soft but flavourful flatbreads in about half an hour: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tortillas
Air fryer fans: YES. Mine took 10 mins on 200 degrees C (not sure what that is in F). I set it to 15 mins but checked and shook them every 3 mins and they were perfect at 10 mins.
Is the vinegar mixture meant to cover the onions fully? The red onions at my grocery store are always ridiculously large so the brine only covers about 1/3 of the onions.
Same. I just make sure I turn them regularly.
It looks beautiful. I think the cauliflower would turn out well using an air fryer. Will definitely be trying this recipe, and go back on some of your others to try in the air fryer too. So much quicker and cheaper than a regular oven.
I like your idea in this post.
I really enjoyed these. Warming the corn tortillas in the oven wrapped in foil worked very well. I added lots of lime and cilantro before devouring. This will be on my easy weeknight meal list for sure.
10/10. So easy, so cheap, so delicious and I love that they are also plant based. Definitely making again. Tip: I pickled some radish along with the onion and would definitely recommend.
For anyone wondering about an air fryer: the answer is yes. Preheat 3 mins on 200 C (no idea what the F is), set air fryer for 15 mins, give the cauliflower florets a good shake every 3 mins, and be prepared to take them out earlier (mine were done after 10 mins or so).